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Brendan Brisson (Chicago), Noah Beck (Fargo) and Erik Portillo (Dubuque) Earn Weekly Honors

November 19, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release


CHICAGO, ILL. - The United States Hockey League (USHL) announced Tuesday the Forward, Defenseman and Goaltender of the Week for Week 8 of the 2019-20 season. This is the first weekly honor for all three of Chicago Steel forward Brendan Brisson, Fargo Force defenseman Noah Beck and Dubuque Fighting Saints goaltender Erik Portillo. Brisson and Beck each netted a pair of goals and added two assists each in a pair of games last weekend while Portillo backed both Fighting Saints wins allowing only one goal against in each of his games. The USHL is America's only Tier I junior hockey league and continues to lead the world in the advancement of Division I college hockey athletes.

Forward: Brendan Brisson (Chicago Steel)

2 GP, 2G, 2A, -2

Brisson was named Forward of the Week after tallying two goals and chipping in a pair of assists, helping lead his Chicago Steel to a perfect 2-0-0-0 weekend. The University of Michigan commit opened the scoring on Friday night with a powerplay goal - his third of the season - assisted on a powerplay goal from forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine four minutes later, and finished off the three-point game (2-1-3) with another goal on the man advantage later in the second period of a 6-3 win over the Sioux City Musketeers. The following night, the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native continued his powerplay success, this time tallying an assist on an equalizing goal from forward Mathieu De St. Phalle midway through the middle frame. Through 16 games this season, Brisson has more than a point per game with 18 (8-10-18), which is tied for third on the Steel and fourth in the USHL as a whole. The former Shattuck St. Mary's skater and his teammates (Sean Farrell - 21, De St. Phalle - 20 and Sam Colangelo - 18) account for four of the top seven spots in USHL points and Chicago has the most points (25) and second-best point percentage (0.781) this season with an overall 12-3-1-0 record. Brisson is currently on a three-game point streak (3-2-5) and has points in six of his last seven games (5-7-12).

Defenseman: Noah Beck (Fargo Force)

2 GP, 2G, 2A, +4

Beck also picked up a pair of goals and assists (2-2-4) last weekend en route to his first USHL Defenseman of the Week award. The Clarkson College commit chipped in two assists in Fargo's Thursday night 7-1 win over the Madison Capitols before scoring a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, the next night in a 3-2 win against Madison. On Friday night, the Capitols jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Beck struck on the powerplay to level the score just less than three minutes after forward Tristan Broz cut the deficit in half and just less than four minutes into the third period. Beck added his second goal of the night on the man advantage just before the midway point of the extra frame to seal the win for his team, who are now 7-5-1-0 (15 pts.) on the season and are currently tied for fifth in the Western Conference. Beck's multi-point performances last weekend mark just the second and third times he has registered multiple points in a game in his young USHL career after his first came in a 4-3 win in October as the defenseman tallied a pair of assists. Last weekend's games also mark Beck's first point streak in the USHL. Beck's seven points (2-5-7) is currently tied for 15th in the USHL among defensemen.

Goalie: Erik Portillo (Dubuque Fighting Saints)

2 GP, 2-0-0-0, 0.99 GAA, .956 SV%

Portillo was excellent for the Fighting Saints in net last weekend, picking up a pair of wins while allowing just one goal in each of the wins and finishing the pair of games with a 0.99 goals against average (GAA) and 0.956 save percentage (SV%). The Buffalo Sabres prospect (2019, Rd. 3, #67) turned aside 24 shots on Friday night in a 2-1 overtime win over the Tri-City Storm before stopping another 19 the next night in a 5-1 win over the Lincoln Stars. Portillo, a University of Michigan commit, is currently 8-1-1-0 this season with a 2.17 GAA and 0.907 SV% in 10 appearances. The Swedish netminder is tied for first with eight wins, ranks second in the USHL for GAA and 10th for SV%. Portillo's pair of single-goal-allowed games last weekend gave him one goal allowed in five of his 10 appearances this season. Fellow Dubuque goaltender Aidan McCarthy was named USHL Goalie of the Week for Week 4 this season, marking the first time a team's goaltenders have both won the award this season. Portillo has been a large part of Dubuque's success this season as the Fighting Saints are currently 10-2-1-0 (21 pts.), which is third in the USHL (2nd - Eastern Conference), with a league-best 0.808 point percentage through 13 games played.

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